J E R O E N S W O L F S

1 0 - 0 8 - 1 9 7 4 D E N H A A G N E D E R L A N D

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

This is not just another photography book.

It is a message to all those who want to

discover what a street means to society:

education, wisdom, youth, experience,

happiness, stories, food and so much more.

You will not find aesthetics competing with

constructions to impress the public. This

is raw material, directly from the guts of a

global traveller focusing on the essential

streets. The street represents the culture,

colours, rituals, and perhaps even the history

of the city and country where he found them.

The street is a meeting place, a platform for

crowds, a centre for news and gossip, the

workplace of salesmen and prostitutes, the

playground of their children and the ultimate

enemy of solitude and anonymity.

Imagine going to nearly two hundred

countries searching for that one street (or

sometimes harbour or railway station) that

symbolizes a whole community. Streets after

a war, a flood, a drought. Streets where

poverty and wealth mingle, where modernity

pushes into tradition, kids conquer their

space and the elderly enjoy a stroll.

Imagine how difficult it must be to choose

among all the possibilities. Why this avenue

and not that alley? It takes an enormous

amount of patience and stamina, not exactly

the talents which characterize Jeroen

Swolfs, who is more a hunter and a runner

than a philosopher or poet. You don’t have

to agree with Swolf’s choices, but you won’t

be able to deny the emotion he wants to

transmit through his pictures. The repetition

of the chosen angle forces us to stay close to

him and to share his soul.

Jeroen Swolfs is in his early forties, a Dutch

photographer who believes in a positive

approach to mankind. He is not naïve nor is

he provincial. But because he is a fanatic city

dweller, he dares to ask questions about the

characteristics of the street next to him, or

those in all the 196 cities he has visited, with

just one purpose: what can I learn from the

things I see and the people I meet?

In a world where crisis and uncertainty seem

to dominate, Swolfs wants to show us an

exit. He believes in the power of life in the

streets, where people connect, shake hands

and make peace. Where deals are made and

food is prepared, where business and the

playground mix. The street is the artery of

the city and of life itself.

His dream is to bring homebound computer

addicts back to the real life beyond. He

invites us to become curious, ask questions

and wonder how our neighbors are doing.

In an age of narcissism; of me, I, and my

selfie, Swolfs pulls us out of our microcosm

into the lively, roaring streets. If you follow

him, you will discover surprises which you

thought had disappeared. There is so much

to discover in the street you walk through

every day if only you start looking!

The street may be adventure, emotion,

tension, pressure and leisure. It is food,

drink and the market. The street is what

connects people. It is their last hope for

new beginnings and the mother of intimacy.

Without streets we would be lost, haunting

the world without direction and without

points of reference. Without streets there

would be no communication, no organisation

and no structure.

In other words: the street is everything. The

street is us, is me, is you.

Thinking of streets I wonder why I always

took them for granted. They are actually one

of man’s greatest inventions.

Mark Blaisse

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Streets of the World is about my trip around

the world, working on the ‘Streets of the

World’ project. Its compilation is based on that

trip and therefore it is not an encyclopaedia

or travel guide. It is a personal account of

the way I perceive the world and the choices

I have made creating the project. The photos

I took are not about countries or capitals,

but about connecting humanity. I want to

share several basic themes which I found

all over the world, such as friendship, love,

work, family, and laughter, but also hope,

perseverance, resilience and brotherhood.

This book is based on six continents, but we

divided Asia into two parts to maintain equal

chapters. I added Australia to Oceania. Each

of the continents has its own colour and

calligraphy. At the time of printing three

countries remain that I still want to add to the

project: Yemen, Libya and Equatorial Guinea.

For various reasons I couldn’t include them

now, but they will eventually also become

part of ‘Streets of the World’.

For one reason or other, which I will explain in

the text, some of the photos in this book were

not taken in the official capitals. The texts

that accompany the pictures are my personal

opinions and observations about these places.

I do realise they can differ greatly from

other opinions and views, but this is what I

encountered and wished to share.

Please feel free to react at:

connect@streetsoftheworld.com

About the technique

When I started ‘Streets of the World’ in

2006, in Chisinau, Moldova, I had already

decided on the technique that I wanted

to use throughout the project. Because

Streets of the World is about unity and the

connection between people around world, I

wanted to use a technique which conveyed

that feeling of unity. So, I chose to always

use the same angle, 16 mm, and the same

point of view, standing in the street looking

straight ahead with a straight horizon, and

to always use an aperture value between 8

and 13, depending on the light, to achieve

a high depth of field in all photos. I tried to

maintain the same ISO as much as I could,

around 200. This approach reappears in the

Streets of the World logo, which has the

horizon in the middle as do the photos, but

also symbolises a street.

About the infographics

The infographics in this book have been

selected based on fact and trivia, but may and

will become outdated because of constantly

changing situations in the world. I thought

it would be nice to mix general information

with fun facts about the countries to enhance

the travel and educational experience of

the book. The infographics are divided into

several categories: Geography, Capital,

Literacy rate, Religion, Languages, Street

Food and Facts.

H O W T O U S E T H I S B O O K

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C O N T I N E N T S V I S I T E D

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C O N T I N E N T S / C H A P T E R S

E U R O P EP A G E 2 3 2

A F R I C A P A G E 3 2 0

O C E A N I A P A G E 6 6

W E S T E R N A S I AP A G E 9 8

N O R T H A M E R I C AP A G E 1 8 0

E A S T E R N A S I AP A G E 1 4

S O U T H A M E R I C AP A G E 1 5 2

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T H E S T R E E T S O FE A S T E R N A S I A

B A N G L A D E S H // D H A K A // 2 3 ° 4 8 ' N - 9 0 ° 2 4 ' E

B H U TA N // T H I M P H U // 2 7 ° 2 8 ' N - 8 9 ° 3 8 ' E

B R U N E I D A R U S S A L A M // B A N D A R S E R I B E G A W A N //

C A M B O D I A // P H N O M P E N H // 1 1 ° 3 2 ' N - 1 0 4 ° 5 3 ' E

C H I N A // B E I J I N G // 3 9 ° 5 4 ' N - 1 1 6 ° 2 4 ' E

I N D I A // N E W D E L H I // 2 8 ° 3 6 ' N - 7 7 ° 1 2 ' E

I N D O N E S I A // J A K A R TA // 6 ° 1 2 ' S - 1 0 6 ° 5 0 ' E

J A P A N // T O K Y O // 3 5 ° 4 1 ' N - 1 3 9 ° 4 1 ' E

L A O S // V I E N T I A N E // 1 7 ° 5 8 ' N - 1 0 2 ° 3 7 ' E

M A L A Y S I A // K U A L A L U M P U R // 3 ° 8 ' N - 1 0 1 ° 4 1 ' E

M A L D I V E S // M A L E // 4 ° 1 0 ' N - 7 3 ° 3 0 ' E

M O N G O L I A // U L A A N B A A TA R // 4 7 ° 5 3 ' N - 1 0 6 ° 5 4 ' E

M YA N M A R // YA N G O N // 1 6 ° 5 1 ' N - 9 6 ° 1 1 ' E

N E P A L // K A T H M A N D U // 2 7 ° 4 3 ' N - 8 5 ° 1 9 ' E

N O R T H K O R E A // P Y O N G YA N G // 3 9 ° 2 ' N - 1 2 5 ° 4 5 ' E

P H I L I P P I N E S // M A N I L A // 1 4 ° 3 5 ' N - 1 2 0 ° 5 9 ' E

S I N G A P O R E // S I N G A P O R E // 1 ° 2 1 ' N - 1 0 3 ° 5 2 ' E

S O U T H K O R E A // S E O U L // 3 7 ° 3 3 ' N - 1 2 6 ° 5 8 ' E

S R I L A N K A // C O L O M B O // 6 ° 5 5 ' N - 7 9 ° 5 1 ' E

TA I W A N // TA I P E I // 2 5 ° 1 ' N - 1 2 1 ° 3 3 ' E

T H A I L A N D // B A N G K O K // 1 3 ° 4 5 ' N - 1 0 0 ° 3 0 ' E

T I B E T // L H A S A // 2 9 ° 3 9 ' N - 9 1 ° 1 0 ' E

E A S T T I M O R // D I L I // 8 ° 3 3 ' S - 1 2 5 ° 3 3 ' E

V I E T N A M // H A N O I // 2 1 ° 1 ' N - 1 0 5 ° 5 0 ' E

4 ° 5 4 ' N - 1 1 4 ° 5 6 ' E

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WHY?

Badly designed container homes

where too many people are squeezed

in. Their main diversion is soccer. The

flags of Argentina and Brazil hang

outside during the World Cup. So

many were watching the matches on

TV that power stations broke down.

Talk about real fans!

WHAT?

Unfortunately, the two (half) naked

children are forced to beg at a very

young age. Sadly, not many people

seem to care. These things are

difficult to see and to photograph,

but a reality too. Still, the city is on

the move and bursting with energy,

literally and mentally, working

towards a better future.

0 3 7 / 2 3 - 0 6 - 2 0 1 0

B A N G L A D E S H // D H A K A // 2 3 ° 4 8 ' N - 9 0 ° 2 4 ' E

5%Other

95%Bengali

1%Other

83%Islam

16%HINDU

Bengali (83%),English (16%)

Dhaka 6 1 . 5 %

C A P I T A L LITERACY RATE

LANGUAGES

STREET FOOD ETHNICITY

RELIGION

Vuna Khichuri: a dish of rice, split lentils and spiced

chicken or beef, is a popular street food in 'The Rickshaw

Capital of the World'

Bangladeshis are mad about cricket. Dhaka is home to the national stadium and many of the

country's top stars. Cricket is played everywhere: alleyways, parks, roads and even rooftops.

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WHY?

Mountains wherever you look, for

those in search of total isolation.

The king is the absolute chief in

this mountain nation, where only a

limited number of tourists may visit.

But those who do influence the new

generations to become a little more

modern, in this sober but beautiful

Buddhist society.

WHAT?

The only country with a Ministry of

Happiness. But who decides what the

definition of being happy is? These

senior Bhutanese are not yet ready to

connect with the youngsters in their

trendy clothes. But the youngsters

seem to be ready for a new age that’s

more connected to the ‘outside world’.

C A P I T A L LITERACY RATE

LANGUAGES

STREET FOOD FACTS

RELIGION

Bhutan was the last country in the world to legalize television broadcasting (1999)

75%LamaisticBuddhist

25%Hindu

Bhutanese (Dzongkha),Tshanglakha,

Khenkha,Lhotsamkha

Thimphu 6 9 . 5 %

Ema Datshi: a stew of green, yellow or red chilies, yak’s

milk cheese, onions and tomatoes, served with red rice, is Thimphu’s

most popular street dish

Thimphu is the only capital in the world where traffic lights are non-existent. A single set had

been installed previously, but the residents protested against it so much that not long

after, the lights were taken down and the good old traffic police officer was back.

B H U T A N // T H I M P H U // 2 7 ° 2 8 ' N - 8 9 ° 3 8 ' E

1 8 0 / 0 4 - 0 9 - 2 0 1 5

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